by Reece "Sabrewolf" Dos-Santos
We've begun to see an increase in international transfers and signings between the pro teams which is something we all should have come to expect with so many different teams and leagues. The most noticeable trend at this moment is the movement of Korean players to leagues across the world. In recent times, we've seen Seraph move to CLG, MakNooN, Winged, SuNo, Lactea and Olleh move to Brazil and Helios may be the latest addition to Evil Geniuses.
A rising concern is the identity crisis that could occur from teams heavily populated by other regions performing at international events. Fans will obviously want to cheer for their nation’s talent at international events the same way it is in events like the World Cup for football/soccer. Inevitably the mixture of Korean players, Chinese players and European players in the NA LCS basically voids the discussion on “which region is better” as relative nations could claim that “Bjergsen is still Danish” (as Deficio often likes to reminds us). But what we really need to do is accept that once you enter a different league, you represent that league no matter what your background is. Each region should still be represented in the majority by their own players, but there shouldn't be a hostility towards transfers from other regions.
I believe that true integration between teams worldwide will help to create a healthy international community within the LoL pro scene and will gradually help to make each league more exciting and diverse. The NA scene on a whole has benefited immensely in terms of popularity and competition since the introduction of key European players, LMQ, and Seraph from Korea. Competition is fiercer and this overall provides a better experience for the viewers as well as the players who work harder to produce upsets and exciting brawls. With more international representation across the leagues the community will find more incentive to watch leagues aside from their own. I myself have found more reason to watch the NA scene since the movement of Evil Geniuses and I’m sure that LMQ have Chinese fans that watch their NA LCS games in the same regard.
There is however a risk of domino effect that comes along with an expanding transfer market in that when one team invests in the aid of a Korean player, others will gradually do the same in order to keep up. In a professional scene like LoL’s where stability is essential for players, the last thing they need is the threat in the back of their mind that they may be eventually axed in favour of an international alternative. Perhaps stability of job is a main reason why we've seen an increase in movement of Korean players abroad as the scene in Korea is very fast paced and demanding. There is much less room for error, let alone continuous error, and under-performers are almost certainly dropped in favour of fresh hungrier blood.
There is a fine balance that needs to be considered with the LCS when it comes to transfers - the balance between stability and over-complacency. To create a stable environment, teams shouldn't really encourage dropping players midway through a split, as this harms both the team and the players. Evidence of this would be Selfie and KottenX for the Supa Hot Crew and Millenium, who needed time to grow into their new teams and develop into the crucial players they are now. Players should be entitled to play the whole split they are contracted for, or at least be rotated out for the substitutes that exist within the team already rather than axing them for someone new completely. Otherwise, what’s the point of having those subs in the first place? Rotating and battling for your spot on a team with a sub provides incentive to improve and develop as it did with EG in summer split of EU and certainly gave Snoopeh a new lease on life in terms of his performance when he was re-introduced into the starting line-up. I know if I was a player knowing that somewhere on Reddit there was a huge thread discussing my “replacement,” my performance would suffer. But what’s also important is knowing when a certain team structure just isn't working. Gambit’s failure to see this is partially what has led to their gradual season by season decay while Froggen’s realization lead to the new super team that is Alliance.
As long as players can find stability within their teams, and not every problem is solved by bringing in a Korean player, transfers should never be a problem for the LoL pro scene.
